Deepti Sharma and Cooper Connolly [Source: AFP]Deepti Sharma decimated Pakistan Women with a record spell. India started off the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 on a winning note. In other news, Cooper Connolly notched up his maiden ODI century.Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Sunday, June 14.Steve Smith becomes Washington Freedom captain in MLC 2026Steve Smith has been appointed as new captain of the Washington Freedom franchise ahead of the upcoming MLC 2026 season. The legendary Australian batter replaced national teammate Glenn Maxwell, after the latter led the team into the final of MLC 2025 last year. Also Read- Ravichandran Ashwin Back On Cricket Field, Starts Camp With This TeamUnder the leadership of Smith, Washington Freedom will take on Seattle Orcas in their opening match of the tournament on June 19 in Grand Prairie. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi injured amid Sri Lanka tri-seriesVaibhav Sooryavanshi sustained an injury during a training session in Sri Lanka just a day before India A’s all-important match against the hosts at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla. The attacking opener left India’s training session midway on Sunday, June 14, as reported by Revsportz. It is worth noting that Sooryavanshi is slated to make his international debut later this month during India’s two-match T20I series in Ireland.Cooper Connolly strikes maiden ODI ton as AUS avoid whitewashYoung Australian opener Cooper Connolly made an epic 149 from 134 balls with 13 boundaries and six sixes against Bangladesh in the third ODI of their three-match series in Mirpur. His innings helped Australia pull off a thrilling one-wicket win in their chase of 275, doing so with three balls to spare. The outcome also helped Australia avoid an away series whitewash, with Bangladesh walking away with a 2-1 series result. Shoriful Islam claims huge Bangladesh recordBangladesh fast bowler Shoriful Islam bowled his heart out against Australia in the third ODI, picking up fighting figures of 6-48 in his 10 overs in Mirpur. The speedster not only recorded his best-ever bowling figures and his maiden five-fer in ODIs, but also picked up the best bowling figures ever recorded by any bowler in Australia vs Bangladesh ODI history, surpassing Andrew Symonds’ 21-year-old record in the process.Deepti Sharma decimates Pakistan, becomes world record holderIndian all-rounder Deepti Sharma picked up match-winning figures of 5-10 against Pakistan Women in match number six of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The legendary spinner helped India decimate Pakistan by 64 runs to get off to a winning start in the tournament.Deepti also became the leading wicket-taker in the history of Women’s T20I cricket, extending her tally to 166 wickets and surpassing Thailand’s Thipatcha Putthawong in the process.Also Read- Pakistan Head Coach Accepts Defeat Vs India Even Before Chase; Throws Fielders Under The Bus
